How easy is it to get into the top-ranking applications on Amazon's Android Appstore?

Pretty friggin' easy.

"We made it into their top 20 paid apps with 17 downloads, something that takes many thousands of downloads on the Google Market, and iOS stores," ShiftyJelly co-founder Russell Ivanovic told Business Insider.

Amazon is in rare company with both Google and Apple. It is about to release its own hardware, the Kindle Fire tablet, and has an app store to go along with it.

Heading into the Kindle Fire tablet launch, the Amazon Appstore seems to have been an afterthought among many developers. That will probably change as soon as the Fire comes out. But until then, here are some reactions from developers we reached out to:

None of the Android app stores even come close to matching the amount of revenue the Apple App Store generates, mobile game developer Outfit7 told us. But they said the numbers from the Amazon Appstore and the Android Marketplace are pretty similar.

After a free app promotion, mobile gaming company ShiftyJelly didn't see any additional traffic in the Amazon Appstore — and the company wasn't paid the royalties promised when it was featured as the free app of the day, the company's co-founder Russell Ivanovic told Business Insider. Every other developer he's spoken with has experienced the same thing, he said.

PopCap said it would not comment on its relationship with Amazon, even though the company has an exclusive relationship with the online retailer. It distributes incredibly popular games like Plants vs. Zombies through the Amazon Appstore instead of the Android Marketplace.

One source close to the company said Kongregate, an online game arcade for Android devices, wasn't seeing significant traction with its app. But there wasn't a downside to keeping the app on the Amazon Appstore, even if it was just an experiment.

Oceanhouse Media, an app publisher, is making a big bet on the Kindle Fire bringing up the Amazon Appstore's traffic. Other than that, it still lags behind the Android Marketplace, Oceanhouse Media president Michael Kripalani said.

Zynga would not respond to requests for comment on the Amazon Appstore. Zynga's games won't appear on the Amazon Appstore until the Kindle Fire comes out.

Disclosure: Jeff Bezos is an investor in Business Insider through his
personal investment company Bezos Expeditions.